Comey is a jackass who caused Hillary to lose the election

[oberliner]

This passage in particular:

[kimbutgar]

1. +1 my first thought when I heard this today

[LisaM]

2. Mildly nauseated? MILDLY????

The minute he did it, I started feeling sick and I haven't stopped since. (Oh, and props to his daughter for correcting him on one of my pet peeves).

[oberliner]

8. Still galls me that he did what he did

It makes absolutely no sense and his "explanation" in the book makes it even worse.

[Lulu KC]

78. +1

[lunasun]

3. Stupid and just another republican asshole that got screwed by trump . Boohoo

[Gothmog]

4. I am not going to buy this book

[lunasun]

12. Plus I already knows how it ends ! (With him writing a book and doing some PR and teaching

a course in ethical leadership next fall )

[Demsrule86]

73. I am going to buy the book...I hope it is a wild success and it rubs the Dumpster's

nose in it..it will piss Trump off so badly if it is a success.

[Demsrule86]

75. I am going to buy the book. I want to read it and I want it to be a bestseller which will totally

piss Trump off.

[manor321]

6. We know

Yes, we know he was tremendously horrible here, with astonishingly terrible consequences for millions of human beings.

But I'm still thrilled with his book and hope it gets press coverage every day for weeks.

[unblock]

7. at best, he got seriously played. incredibly embarrassing for someone in his position.

he violated *two* doj policies, (1) commenting about an ongoing case and (2) political comments close to an election.

there was no important doj principle to protect by overriding these two policies, so keeping his mouth shut was the obvious thing to do.


also, note that it was republican operators badgering him to do this kind of thing, hillary's camp certainly wasn't telling him to reveal this information!

seriously, he's trying to convince us he meant it as a favor to hillary????

[oberliner]

23. Agreed on all counts

[50 Shades Of Blue]

9. K & R!

[herding cats]

10. I didn't order his book.

I have no plans to purchase it.

[Snackshack]

11. Yea...

Not entirely sure I agree with President Obama on this...

“Comey defends his handling of the Clinton email investigation and for the first time details a private assurance he received from President Obama following Clinton’s defeat. Many Democrats blame Comey for announcing less than two weeks before the election that the FBI was examining a new trove of Clinton emails for possible classified material.

Comey writes that Obama sat alone with him in the Oval Office in late November and told him, “I picked you to be FBI director because of your integrity and your ability. I want you to know that nothing — nothing — has happened in the last year to change my view.”

On the verge of tears, Comey told Obama, “Boy, were those words I needed to hear .?.?. I’m just trying to do the right thing.”

“I know,” Obama said. “I know.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/james-comeys-memoir-trump-fixates-on-proving-lewd-dossier-allegations-false/2018/04/12/64493866-3ce2-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.08884dba2235

[yardwork]

15. That was a characteristically kind and decent thing for President Obama to do.

It doesn't change the fact that Comey showed incredibly poor judgement that lost Clinton the election.

[garybeck]

13. "caused hillary to lose the election"

not sure i agree with that.
she was still ahead in the polls.
it would blame it on russia more than comey.

[oberliner]

14. Hillary Clinton: Without the Comey letter, the evidence shows I would have won

Hillary Clinton opened up on Wednesday about President Donald Trump's firing of James Comey, saying she would have won the election had it not been for the former FBI director's letter about his investigation of her private email account.

"Absent that, I believe the evidence shows I would have won," Clinton told NBC's "TODAY" in her first live television interview since losing the 2016 presidential election.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/13/hillary-clinton-without-comey-letter-i-would-have-won.html

[lunasun]

16. I agree with her. He planted a big seed of doubt with that letter. Thanks Comey grr

[meadowlander]

19. We don't know what would have happened and, with respect, neither does Hillary Clinton.

If it hadn't been the emails, it would have been some other dirty trick or more aggressive vote tampering or just made up batshit pizza-gate-esque fake news or new evidence uncovered on Benghazi or Whitewater.

It doesn't make sense to me why Clinton took such a massive dip in the polls over what was essentially old news. There was nothing new about the email scandal or it being investigated. I don't think without the Russians catapulting the propaganda and massive voter suppression/tampering that Comey's actions would have had the result they did.

In any case, what's important now is taking down Trump and if Comey is able to help with that in any way, now is not the time to be undercutting him. We can point fingers after Trump is frogmarched out of the White House.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. We lambasted Comey at the time. I see no utility in lambasting him now. He's useful to us.

[oberliner]

22. We are consistent, unlike Trump Republicans

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. Cui bono

It has nothing to do with being consistent and everything to do with not being a party to a GOP campaign to discredit him:

In advance of a publicity tour by James B. Comey to promote his new book, the Republican National Committee is preparing a widespread campaign to undercut his credibility, including a new website that dubs the former FBI director as “Lyin’ Comey.”

The website prominently features quotes from Democrats highly critical of Comey before his firing by President Trump nearly a year ago as he grew agitated by the Russia probe.

RNC officials say their effort will also include digital ads, a “war room” to monitor Comey’s television appearances, a rapid response team to rebut his claims in real time and coordination of Trump surrogates to fan out across other TV programs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-campaign-seeks-to-brand-comey-a-liar-as-he-touts-book-critical-of-trump/2018/04/12/4c8ee4c2-3e4b-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.7646a263d596

Cui bono. Who benefits from undermining James Comey at this juncture ?

[rzemanfl]

27. +1. The enemy of my enemy....n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. At this juncture there is no upside in trashing Mueller, no upside at all.

[rzemanfl]

29. I agree. n/t

[Me.]

31. That's My Thought Exactly

[Owl]

65. I agree.

[Nevernose]

40. Comey was right, but for the wrong reason

I, too, blame the polls. There were a thousand things that caused Hillary to lose, some more than others. We all know the list. It’s long.

I blame the media polls more than anything else. My gut feeling tells me that too many people just didn’t bother to vote. Not because Russian meddling hyped Susan Sarandon, et cetera, but because people heard “99% chance that Clinton will win, impossible for a Trump victory” and simply figured “Eh, I got other things to do today.”

[MrsCoffee]

67. Right? Really? He was concerned she would be an illegitimate president? Over a bogus email

witch hunt?

And you think he was right?

Why wasn’t he concerned about a traitorous mob boss rapist becoming president? He knew what Trump really was and said NOTHING.

Fuck Comey and his little book tour.

Blaming the voters when she won by over three million votes is getting old and tired.

Comey was a huge factor in the election. Period.

[Demsrule86]

72. I blame the lying cheating Republicans...she did win you know.

[Nevernose]

105. I blame them too

Like I said: there’s a big list of people to blame. Comey, in fact, is one of those lying, cheating Republicans. He’d been out to get her since the Whitewater investigation, where the American taxpayers spent $120 million dollars to conclusively prove that the Clinton family had once lost 50k in an a 1978 Arkansas land deal.

But out of that long list, from Sarandon to speeches to soviets, I blame the American media most of all. They not only gave Trump ten times the advertising, for free, but they basically said, “Don’t bother voting because Hillary’s going to win.” That’s the message they were putting out, intentionally or otherwise. Had Hillary received equal, fair airtime — and had the media not treated the election like a foregone conclusion — Clinton would have had the biggest blow out victory in American political history.

In short: Comey can go fuck himself, but he’s not wrong about the media’s influence on that election.

[Kingofalldems]

17. He'll be telling the Truth about Trump Sunday.

And I'll be watching.

BTW, aren't the republicans on a smear campaign against Comey?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. Kingsofall dems, you are correct

GOP campaign seeks to brand Comey a liar as he touts book critical of Trump

In advance of a publicity tour by James B. Comey to promote his new book, the Republican National Committee is preparing a widespread campaign to undercut his credibility, including a new website that dubs the former FBI director as “Lyin’ Comey.”

The website prominently features quotes from Democrats highly critical of Comey before his firing by President Trump nearly a year ago as he grew agitated by the Russia probe.

RNC officials say their effort will also include digital ads, a “war room” to monitor Comey’s television appearances, a rapid response team to rebut his claims in real time and coordination of Trump surrogates to fan out across other TV programs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-campaign-seeks-to-brand-comey-a-liar-as-he-touts-book-critical-of-trump/2018/04/12/4c8ee4c2-3e4b-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.7646a263d596

[oberliner]

21. Republicans have a whole website devoted to smearing Comey

They are even recycling the "Lyin'" monicker used for Ted Cruz to apply to Comey.

It's amazing how he went from being beloved by Republicans when he was hurting Hillary Clinton to being their enemy when he is hurting Trump.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

45. It's not just the

Republicans that are on a smear campaign. Just saying ...

[lunamagica]

46. It is not a smear when it is the truth

[Tatiana]

24. Comey getting fired has been the best thing for this country since Trump was selected

pResident.

He is arrogant. He does think too highly of himself. Apparently he was bullied as a child and adolescent and I think that probably informs some of his savior complex. He relished being morally superior to Trump instead of using cunning, guile, and discipline to nail that f*&ker to the wall. He thought himself superior to Hillary as well.

Apparently Rosenstein couldn't stand him either, but was a lot smarter. He did what he needed to do (make Trump think he was getting what he wanted -- Comey fired so the investigation would end) and appointed the single-best prosecutor this country has (Mueller).

Rosenstein is going to go down as the other patriot (after Mueller) in this sordid saga.

[Tarc]

26. "assumed from media polling" was the mistake everyone made

The Bradley effect is real.

[BootinUp]

30. Yes. He is apparently so non-political his brain couldn't process that input. nt

[califootman]

32. What should Comey have done?

Not that I want to completely absolve him, but didn't it go something like this:

1. When he closed the original investigation, he told Congress he would let them know if new information came out relevant to the investigation.

2. New info came from, I believe, the NY FBI office (thanks, Anthony Weiner!).

3. Comey, as he said he would, reported that to Congress.

4. Chaffetz (and probably some other Repubs) blabbed that to the world.

Basically, he kept to his word. He did what he said he would do. You could argue that maybe he should have held off on informing Congress until after they had reviewed all the emails, but what if they had found something in them and then Congress found out that he hadn't informed them in a timely manner?

[oberliner]

37. Not go public the way he did

In her book, Clinton wrote that Comey had departed from “long-standing Justice Department policy” with his unusually public airing of the FBI’s investigation. In the days and weeks following her election loss, the former secretary of state wrote that she tried to put the campaign out of her mind, in part because “it wasn’t healthy or productive to dwell on the ways I felt I’d been shivved by then-FBI Director Jim Comey—three times over the final five months of the campaign.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/12/hillary-clinton-book-best-passages-and-quotes-242608

[califootman]

41. But he didn't go public.

He told Congress, as he said he would. Chaffetz went public with it.

Again, I don't think Comey is completely without blame here. As mentioned above, he seemed to have some sort of savior-complex during this affair. He may have made the wrong choice, but it wasn't by any means a cut and dried choice. It was a tough ethical situation, and I don't think he acted with malice in making his decision.

The major asshats in the whole debacle were more likely Weiner, Chaffetz, and the "Anti-Hillary Fan Club" at the NY FBI Office. Any of them could have broken the chain of events, and in my opinion should be held more culpable.

[oberliner]

42. What did Hillary mean by his "unusually public airing of the FBIs investigation" ?

[califootman]

49. Possibly his pronouncement earlier that year at the "conclusion" of the investigation.

If that's the case, I would say she's correct.

If she's blaming him for an "unusually public airing" when the new emails were found, I feel she's placing the blame incorrectly. Chaffetz is the one who went public then.

[octoberlib]

52. +1

[lunamagica]

47. He didn't need to make any comments about the case

He should have never made political comments close to an election.

If he needed to talk, he should have mentioned that trump was under investigation.

The fact that he could not keep quiet about Hillary, but didn't mention trump clearly shows what his agenda was.

[stillcool]

33. i remember something about

the reasoning behind that disclosure...like the report to Congress was protocol, but the leak by Congress was the issue. I think Rudy was up to his ass with this one....seeing as how it all came about because of Weiner, the NY feds, and emails.

[still_one]

34. Thank you Oberliner for saying what needed to be said. Some may forget who essentially put trump

in the WH, and by some accounts what did Comey was in violation of the Hatch Act.

Comey is no hero, and has brought the country to where it is today

[oberliner]

38. You're welcome

Won't soon forget what he did to Hillary.

[Nonhlanhla]

35. He's an idiot then

I said, on the day that his letter came out, that he has just cost Hillary the election. If it was clear to me even then, how could he have been so naive not to see it?

[NCTraveler]

36. K&R nt

[Ninga]

39. Not one word about the chain of events that caused him to revisit to

review? Why? Huh?

I want to hear from Comey the truth.

[dhol82]

89. I want to know how much Giuliani figures into this.

Frankly think that he and his NY Fed cabal manipulated Comey.

[Yorkist]

43. Blaming Comey.....

.......is inevitable, as is blaming the Russians or Zuckerberg or Fox or any other facet of the campaign where you can see votes were lost, but it's also just a little too convenient for other people - including HRC herself - who need to shoulder some blame.

The media, just as with Brexit over here, blew there role completely - by only seeing what they wanted to see, and failing to recognise it was even close until we'd all seen their mistake unravel on live TV.

But the electorate themselves have to, ultimately, carry the can, right ?

A lot of people chose to stay at home and not vote because Clinton wasn't Sanders, or because she's a woman, or because she's imperfect, or because for years they've been fed the horseshit that all politicians are 'the same anyway' and a lot more stayed at home because they thought it was in the bag and not worth the effort.

Trump is President because of the electorate, more than "because Comey" or any other factor.

[MrsCoffee]

66. Yeah, nice try.

There were a dozen things that fucked the people out of getting the President they voted for. Comey was in the top three.

The electorate chose Hillary by over three million votes.

But please proceed....

[kentuck]

44. He promised them he would return if he found anything. He bent to their pressure.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/02/james-comey-fbi-director-letter

With the bureau’s probity questioned by Gohmert and others, Comey sprang to the defense. “You can call us wrong,” he said, “but don’t call us weasels. We are not weasels. We are honest people and . . . whether or not you agree with the result, this was done the way you would want it to be done.”

Agreeing to appear in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the investigation was yet another mistake, many believe, forcing Comey to answer questions he normally wouldn’t have. Lamar Smith (Republican, Texas) asked him if he’d reopen the case if he found new information. “It’s hard for me to answer in the abstract,” said Comey, who was under oath. “We would certainly look at any new and substantial information.”

....more

[lunamagica]

48. Thank you for this post, Oberliner. You are absolutrluy right

Last edited Fri Apr 13, 2018, 12:29 AM - Edit history (2)

The fawning ove Comey on hoist site is sickening. The man has no integrity, acted in a partisan way, and knowingly intervened in a presidential race to help one side win.

He should never be forgiven for this.

[Garrett78]

50. In an election that close, any number of factors could be held responsible.

Such as race-based voter suppression, Russian interference, fake news, Comey's last minute announcement, and a pathetic mainstream media (that promotes false equivalencies and shies away from identifying facts, while treating all statements as equally valid opinions in the name of some warped sense of fairness).

[honest.abe]

51. I do not believe Comey purposely sabotaged Hillary..

to sway the election. I think he was feeling pressured by Republicans and thought that statement about reopening the investigation was the right thing to do given the circumstances. I think he had no idea that would result in a President Trump.

[Ninga]

93. That may be the case....if it is, he's stupid. Really? Rudolph Giuliani, a sycophant says

he has new info?

The term "rush to judgement" has taken on a whole new meaning.

[honest.abe]

103. Yeah, it was a dumb move and not well thought out.

I am sure he wished he had that to do over again.

[Mike Nelson]

53. I don't think...

...we know the full extent of Republicans working behind-the-scenes. I think they manipulated him... pushed him out with those news conferences... they had someone inside, maybe through Ghoulanni. They had stories about "Hilary indictment" coming soon... at one point, FOX "News" reported the indictment. They would have released their own version of these stories... So, while he's responsible, there are bigger players.

[left-of-center2012]

54. Is there a link ?

What are you talking about?

[oberliner]

57. Jim Comey has written a book and journalists have posted excerpts online

The one I posted here came from Kyle Griffin's twitter feed. He is the producer of The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC.

Link to tweet

[left-of-center2012]

60. James Comey Has a Story to Tell. Its Very Persuasive

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/books/review/james-comey-a-higher-loyalty.html?smid=tw-share

[John1956PA]

55. Is the usage of "nauseous" versus "nauseated" an issue of grammar or semantics?

I have always considered the question of whether a word has been used properly as a question pertaining to semantics rather than grammar. However, I read that "grammar" is defined to include proper word usage.

[oberliner]

59. I would say it would be an issue of usage

However, I would argue that such things can change over time and what was incorrect usage once can later become OK.

[John1956PA]

100. Yes. The term "semantic change" seems appropriate.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change:

Semantic change (also semantic shift, semantic progression, semantic development, or semantic drift) is the evolution of word usage—usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage. In diachronic (or historical) linguistics, semantic change is a change in one of the meanings of a word. Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings. The study of semantic change can be seen as part of etymology, onomasiology, semasiology, and semantics.

[Hortensis]

56. Comey's lying like a rug. A dirty one. By then the polls had

started that shocking, weird oscillation as ignorant people were flooded with domestic disinformation and Russian deza against Hillary and other Democrats. Comey knew what was happening far, far more than most people because the FBI knew the Russians were involved and was monitoring them and other influences, just like other experts.

On October 30, FBI Assistant Director McCabe's already-given interview sabotaging the Democratic Party was published in the WSJ.

There was so much for months in the same pattern, all punching one direction--against Democrats. Just for instance, on October 17, 2016, the FBI released a bunch of documents, in the process referring to a state department group as "the shadow government," tying in, of course, to a major right wing conspiracy.

On November 1 the FBI announced closure of a 16-year-old investigation into a pardon Bill Clinton had given and released documents from the investigation itself.

All of this was shocking violation of the FBI's longstanding policy to not do anything that could influence elections within 90 days of voting. No doubt there's more.

As for all the months before, WHY didn't the DNC know the Kremlin was inside its computers for weeks while the FBI monitored? That's just one thing among many.

Comey's not merely a jackass, he's a traitor.

[oberliner]

58. Well said

Jackass was an understatement.

[lunamagica]

79. Great post, Hortensis! Comey is a traitor.

"All of this was shocking violation of the FBI's longstanding policy to not do anything that could influence elections within 90 days of voting.'.

That alone negates all the absurd excuses posted here in order to exonerate him.

My, we are now supposed to believe he did it to help Hillary!

[Demsrule86]

86. We should not fall for the GOP Trap to gang up on Comey to limit his use as a witness...that is what

this is about. Regardless of how we feel about Comey and Hillary, we should consider whether his words about Trump are true and I thin they are. Let's not give Trump a victory.

[uponit7771]

91. Yeah, fuck him ... him and McCabe did some shady shit during the election

[LuckyCharms]

61. Comey caused Hillary to win the popular vote by 3 mil?

[oberliner]

62. No, Hillary was responsible for her popular vote victory

Sadly, that is not how we elect presidents.

Here's what I meant:

In her book, Clinton wrote that Comey had departed from “long-standing Justice Department policy” with his unusually public airing of the FBI’s investigation. In the days and weeks following her election loss, the former secretary of state wrote that she tried to put the campaign out of her mind, in part because “it wasn’t healthy or productive to dwell on the ways I felt I’d been shivved by then-FBI Director Jim Comey—three times over the final five months of the campaign.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/12/hillary-clinton-book-best-passages-and-quotes-242608

[LuckyCharms]

63. So Comey caused Hillary to lose a few tens of thousands

of votes in key states which therefore caused her to lose the election and no other factors came into play in this loss?

[oberliner]

64. Lots of other factors came into play

It's like a referee calling a foul improperly at the end of a basketball game that leads to the winning free throws being made with a few seconds left. Obviously there were a plethora of factors that got the game to that point, but that bad call by the ref was a prominent factor that one would informally say cost the losing team the victory.

[elocs]

68. Come election day there was only 1 thing that those on the Left could do

that was completely within their power to do that had nothing to do with Comey or the Russians: get out and vote everywhere for the one and only person who could have stopped Trump from becoming president. Instead, many hundreds of thousands chose not to vote at all and millions voted for a third party (and that makes Republicans rejoice).

Ultimately it is true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and right now in April of 2018, Comey is our friend. The presidential election of 2016 is history and many are now free to lament and regret their choice or non-choice, but Comey and his book can hurt Trump to some degree right now and that's a good thing.

[lunamagica]

82. 1) She received more than three million votes. 2) James Comey will never be our friend

[elocs]

90. Don't be disingenuous because you know we do not elect our presidents by popular vote.

If Clinton had won the presidency by winning the electoral vote but losing the popular vote then nobody here would be saying a word about it, would they?

Anybody who is hurting your enemy is your friend at that moment, that's just common sense.

[lunamagica]

92. The way people are building Comey up, like he is some kind of superhero

who will bring trump down is quite amusing.

Comey is in this for Comey. He wants to make money from his book and will say whatever it takes to promote it.

Get ready for a huge letdown

[elocs]

95. Comey is just a piece of the picture that could bring down Trump

just as he was only a piece of the picture that hurt Clinton in the election.
Every presidential election campaign should have some ammunition to counter a pre-election day surprise but the Clinton campaign had nothing in reserve. Her campaign was run like she couldn't possibly lose to somebody like Trump to trying not to lose at the end.

Frankly the expectations here are running so high that if it doesn't end up with Trump in pinstripes there will be a huge letdown. I remember Fitzmas and all of the gloating about how Bush and Cheney were going to be frog-marched to The Hague. Never happened.
Trump may well serve out his term and then decide not to run again, declaring his presidency to be the most beautiful and successful presidency in history.

[bigtree]

69. I'd be willing to bet Hillary places more value on his testimony and cooperation in the Russia probe

...than she does on a rehashing of his role in the election.

There's absolutely nothing of value that's going to come from replaying that election.

There are, however, myriad reasons to support Comey in his defenses against Trump's firing.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

76. bigtree, what do we gain by bashing Comey at this juncture ?

[oberliner]

84. Ideological consistency

A contrast with the naked hypocrisy of the GOP.

(I recognize you asked a different poster, not me - I hope they respond also)

[DemocratSinceBirth]

87. " A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..."

Ralph Waldo Emerson






P.S. I don't believe you are bigtree.

[BannonsLiver]

97. Wait a second

Are you saying the Comey saga is nuanced and more complicated than empty bumper sticker slogans and poorly thought out hot takes?

[Your Waiter Tonight]

70. Yep

And I shall always blame him for the Trump Abomination.

[Demsrule86]

71. The GOP is hoping people will feel and post just as you did in this OP.

Regardless of the Hillary situation..., he is key to Trump's obstruction so I won't play the GOP game and condemn Comey when he is surely going to show the world what Trump did...obstruction. I won't join in the Republican effort(and apparently even some Dems) to discredit Comey...not to say I approve of the Hillary situation, but that ship has sailed

[DemocratSinceBirth]

74. Demsrule86, I have a question.

Does the GOP or the Democrats benefit from bashing James Comey right now ?

[Demsrule86]

77. Trump benefits from both the GOP and the Democrats bashing Comey...

The GOP wants to discredit the book to defend Trump...it presents from what I can see a clear case for obstruction so as when Trump fired Comey, he and the GOP are hoping that Democrats will join in the Fray against Comey and thus discredit him as a witness as well as in terms of the information in the book. I fail to see why a Democrat would write this post and join with the Republican in an attempt to discredit a potential witness against Trump. I hope the book is a huge success and dumpy pulls what is left of his fake hair out when he realizes that his plan and the GOP plan didn't work.

[oberliner]

81. Screw the GOP

What Comey did with respect to HRC was awful.

That the GOP is pretending to give a crap about that is preposterous beyond belief.

[HipChick]

80. Since the Russians already had their hands in the election, what actual impact did Comey have?

Prob none...

[oberliner]

83. HRC seems to think he had a substantial impact

She talks about that in her book.

[HipChick]

85. Maybe she needed that for her book...

[Maeve]

88. Comey is a deeply flawed man

His errors in judgment helped push this country into the hot mess we have now (I have family that felt they could not vote for Hillary after his trashing of her over the e-mail crap even while saying she did nothing illegal)

He could have shut up, gone along to get along...but the same stubborn self-important streak that made him think he was the final arbitor of Hillary's behavior made him fight back against pressure from the Orange Harangutan. And now he might manage to redeem himself somewhat (notice the qualifier, please) and help end the trumpster-fire he helped light. History will judge him; I'm not willig to do so until it all plays out. I will trust his observations and reports, but not his self-examinations. (I think he can be a fair witness to events, but not of his own motivations)

[Orsino]

94. We will never be able to measure the effect Comey had on the vote.

And there were far too many thumbs on scales for us to claim that any one caused the "loss."

[democratisphere]

96. Comey contributed to HRC's loss but many other collective factors resulted

in drumpf being elected. Comey has/will be a big contributor in drumpf's demise and removal from the Oval Office. Time to move on!

[IronLionZion]

98. He would be damned either way, since not disclosing it could also influence the election

it sucks to be him in that situation

[Tarc]

99. I think we need to put away this "Comey disclosed it" bit, it isn't correct

Comey wrote a confidential letter to the intelligence committee, Jason Chaffetz lied in a tweet about the letter, saying it meant that the Clinton e-mail investigation was "being reopened".

[oberliner]

101. He sent a letter informing the Senate and House that he was reviewing additional emails

that could be relevant.

Both investigations were open, but he only commented on one (the Hillary investigation, not the Trump investigation).

Sen. Leahy made this point in the hearing.

[vi5]

102. Exactly.....

...the rapid switch on this place to one of forgiveness for Comey, who had a major, direct impact on the election results while still continuing to lambaste and blame and spew hatred for.....let's just say other folks.....for much less or much less tangible or provable impacts on her loss is just hypocrisy at it's finest.

[radical noodle]

104. Comey is a self-righteous prick

who is overly judgmental and harsh. Even considering that the words he used to describe trump, even if overly dramatic, are close to right... trump is a liar and they are like a crime family.

I will buy the book just to help get under trump's thin skin.

[LisaM]

106. For whatever reason, the nothing burger of Hillary's emails was a dog whistle to her opponents

and to the media. Frankly, it was one of the few things anyone could use against her (even though it was ridiculous), so it came up over and over again, while Trump's vast array of real crimes went mostly unremarked on.

I'll never, ever, get it. And I won't forgive the media for harping on it during the campaign and for what they tried to pass off as "debates".